


Free Radicals

by Odaigahara



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Activism, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Fake Marriage, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Internalized Misogyny, M/M, Misunderstandings, Morality | Patton Sanders is a Sweetheart, Political Campaigns, Revolutionary Rhetoric, Suicidal Thoughts, Sympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 08:39:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21715780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Odaigahara/pseuds/Odaigahara
Summary: Patton gets kicked out of his home for being an infertile omega, goes home with someone he thinks is a serial killer, and meets the best friends he'll ever make in his life.Too bad none of them have any rights in the eyes of the law, but hey, they can change that! All it'll take is an eensy weensy election win. And a fake marriage.And a whole lot of crimes.*Chapter Two:Patton kinda-sorta punches an alpha in the face.
Relationships: Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Dr. Emile Picani/Sleep | Remy Sanders, Morality | Patton Sanders/Deceit Sanders
Comments: 22
Kudos: 94





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton makes a friend. Kind of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is gonna be a REAL weird multichap gen fic? I don't even know with this one, to be honest.

The Christmas lights were pretty, at least. They twinkled in dark blue and white, red and green and pale gold, and reflected off the rain-slicked pavement so the streets looked like neon rainbows. Rainbow roads. Like in Mario Kart, and that was how Patton felt, careening off the edge and into the dark, except no one was gonna pull him back on track like Lakitu did for Mario. They were just gonna leave him there.

From the roof he could see the electric icicles at one of the touristy shopfronts, piercing white and crystalline, dappled with leftover raindrops. There was a little girl in green rain boots dancing in front of it, tugging her omega mother's hand and waving wildly, while her alpha mother glanced in the window and turned to her mate with a tilt of her head. The alpha ruffled her little daughter's hair and said something, smiling down at her; Patton wondered bitterly whether she'd keep smiling as her child grew up. 

Children presented around the age of ten, didn't they? Before puberty kicked off. That was when _Patton_ had learned he was an omega. He'd been so happy, because everyone had already guessed, had told him he was soft and pretty and would make some alpha so _pleased_ someday. His parents could get rich off the dowry for a good omega like him. It would make up for having to raise him, since everyone knew an omega couldn't get a job and pay back their parents' investment like an alpha or beta could. It meant it was okay that Patton got confused sometimes, because omegas weren't supposed to be smart; okay that he loved sweet things and softness and flowers in his hair, because omegas were always shallow and feminine. It meant he would give some alpha lots of babies someday.

Except he couldn't do that. He wasn't _enough. _He was useless and a drain on his parents' resources and not worth anything to anyone, and wasn't he big enough to take care of himself now? Didn't he want his parents to be happy? 

All he had to do was go to a police station and tell them his name, but not who his family was- tell them he was an orphan, homeless, alone- and they would take him in. Put him in a program for lone unmated omegas, and maybe find an alpha who would put up with him. Patton was supposed to be going there now. He didn't have money or food or spare clothes because he was supposed to go _immediately, _and his mother didn't mind kicking him out but she didn't want him getting _hurt. _That was what she had said, at least.

He couldn't remember ever being out this late at night alone. 

Patton hugged his knees and wished he was brave enough to go closer to the edge. He'd braved the NO TRESPASSING sign and the chain-link fence, spurred by a recklessness he'd never felt before, but now that he was actually _on _the roof, he didn't think he could go through with jumping off. Stupid flighty omega, too weak to stick to a plan. He sniffled, new tears welling up in his eyes. 

The rain picked up again, droplets bouncing off the rooftop. Patton didn't move. Maybe if he was lucky, he'd get a cold from the rain and then it would get worse and he'd _die, _and the people who found him would just see a sad little omega and think it was a waste and never realize how _he'd _been the waste, instead. They'd cry because Patton had died on _Christmas Eve, _and his family would be sad and remember all the presents they'd gotten him and wish they'd never sent him away.

Water soaked through his jeans and shirt, left his cardigan a limp weight on his shoulders. Patton shivered harder, curling in on himself to hoard warmth, and felt his chest hollow when he thought of his warm bed and stuffed animals, of his friends at school. At least he'd only had one year left, right? And it wasn't like an omega would be going to college anyway... 

But he'd wanted to go to college. He'd been going to ask his parents about it, if only so he could see a little more of the world before he settled down. He'd thought maybe he'd find a nice alpha and have adventures and then they'd buy a house together and everything would be just like everyone said it would. 

Stupid, _stupid _omega. He didn't even notice the sound of footsteps behind him until they were _right _behind him, and by then it was too late to turn around.

"Well, _this_ is something I expected," the person said, and Patton yelped and jumped up. His foot slipped on the slick roof, and for one dizzyingly terrifying moment he was careening and weightless and _so close to the edge_-

-but a hand closed over his wrist and tugged him forward, instead. Patton fell into the other person's chest, then froze and jerked back, heart rabbiting in his chest. _Stranger_, he was alone with a stranger and no family to protect him and this was what everyone warned him about- "I'm sorry! I'll go, please don't call the police or murder me, that really wouldn't be a nice thing to do." He giggled, terrified. "Or, um, _an ice_ thing to do. Because it's cold. G-get it?"

The stranger stared at him. He had pale skin and dark hair and a port wine stain across half his face, and when Patton stared back he saw that his eye on that side was _yellow, _like a cat's or a snake's. Did snakes have yellow eyes? "No," the man said after a long moment, "I don't get it. I've never recognized a pun in my life, nor would I remember the definition of the word 'pun' if forced to recall it at knifepoint. You see, as a child I was cursed never to understand words. It's troubled me all my life."

Patton's eyes widened. That sounded really fake, but the opportunity was there, and like a dog with a bone he couldn't resist- "Oh, no, that's so horrible! Can you understand _zarpnorp?"_

"Can I _what?_"

"Because it's not a word! I made it up just now." Patton sniffled, the brief flicker of mirth fading as reality set in. "I don't really know what axe murderers and human traffickers look like, so I'm really not sure, but if you're gonna kill me, can you knock me out first? I don't really wanna feel it."

The stranger kept staring, like he was at a loss for words. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind," he said, sounding strained. "Would you step away from the edge, please?"

Patton wrapped his arms around his chest and nodded, blinking back tears. Did that mean the stranger _was _a serial killer? "I'm Patton," he said, because it never hurt to be polite, even to murderers. "I'm supposed to be going to the police station."

The stranger blinked, and something in his demeanor subtly shifted. "On Broadway?" Another nod. Patton flinched when the stranger pulled something out of his coat, but it was just an umbrella; he popped it open and held it over Patton's head, shielding him from the rain. "Why aren't you there, then? I can't _imagine _any reason you might not want to put yourself in the hands of such _honorable _officers of the law. It's not like the police have ever done anything _wrong_." The stranger's tone had gone sour and hard. Patton tried not to shrink away. 

"I-I guess that makes sense. Um. If you're being sarcastic." Patton noticed the stranger was getting soaked, too, hair flattened to his head and raindrops making him squint, and added, "We can both fit under the umbrella if you want? I don't mind." He inched closer, forcing the stranger to move the umbrella or stop shielding him completely. 

"_That_ doesn't sound uncomfortable," the stranger said, but he stepped under the umbrella a little himself, until they were nearly shoulder to shoulder. "Why do you need to go to the police, anyway? Something to report?"

Patton blinked. It wasn't obvious? But he was an _omega_, and he still looked and smelled useful, it was just his insides that were wrong... oh. But the rain was washing away his scent. He couldn't smell the stranger's presentation, either. "I don't h-have any family. Anymore. They're, um, dead. So I have to go to the police." He looked away, rubbing his arm. _Say we're dead, _his father had told him. _We can't have them returning you. _But lying was _wrong_...

Silence, except for the splatter of rain on the roof around them. When the stranger spoke again, his voice was controlled and hard, with a hint of manic rage at the edges. Patton's breath came quicker. "Oh. Of _course_ they are. It's _amazing_ how many orphaned omegas there are lately, despite the lack of news stories about _entire families_ suddenly disappearing. It's not like sudden deaths of entire families would be _reported _or anything!" He threw up his arms, dislodging the umbrella, and Patton flinched. The stranger faltered and looked at him blankly, then said, slowly and awkwardly: "I've just realized we haven't been introduced. You can call me Dee."

"Like the letter?" Patton asked, confusion briefly overpowering terror. 

A pause. _"No." _Dee frowned at him. "Tell me, Patton. Is there a reason you're on this rooftop? Do you have anywhere else to go tonight?"

Oh. Okay. Patton felt lightheaded with fear, but the stranger was blocking the only exit and his life was pointless now anyway, right? Maybe Dee was an alpha and Patton could make _one _alpha happy, before he died. Maybe then he'd be worth something in the end. Even if it hurt, or lasted a long time, or was just him tied up in a basement for days and days- "No," he whispered. "No, I don't."

"And are you... happy, with the current state of society? With an omega's _place_ in it?"

Patton barely restrained a whimper. An omega's place was at an alpha's feet; he'd been told that all his life.

Whatever his expression said, it seemed to satisfy Dee. "You've come to the right place," he said smoothly. Patton barely registered the words. He forced his shoulders to relax, forced himself to smile. Everything was fine. He was- it was _fine, _and he didn't have a say anyway, and his life was over already so if it ended a little slower it wasn't such a big deal... "If you'll follow me?"

Dee held out his hand; shivering, pretending it was only from the cold, Patton took it. Despite everything, it was warm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tfw you're having two VERY different conversations.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get derailed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW at end of chapter
> 
> Posted at an awkward time, any edits will be for flow and not content.

Patton followed the stranger- Dee? But that didn't really sound like a _name_\- down the dark stairs of the abandoned building, grimacing nervously at the ragged graffiti on the walls. There were a couple of mattresses in one corner of the lower floor, some banners and a crate of what looked like old cereal boxes. Someone had painted a rainbow above one of the windows, but it was chipped and colorless now. "This _didn't _used to be a squat," Dee explained when he noticed Patton staring, even though Patton had ducked his head away as soon as he was caught. "If it ever was, of course, I wouldn't know about it and there's no way to prove I was ever involved."

"What's a squat?" Patton asked tentatively.

"A place people occupy without legal permission." Dee glanced at his face and added, apparently sensing his confusion, "They trespass and then they keep doing it." He frowned at his umbrella and shook it out, and somewhere in the corner Patton saw a rat scurry out of sight. He squeaked and flinched closer to his new friend. Well, not friend, probably someone who was going to kill him soon, but beggars couldn't be choosers, right? He had to play with the cards he'd been dealt. He was pretty sure one of those was the applicable saying, at least.

"O-oh. Why?" Patton tried to wrap his mind around that. Wouldn't they rather go to the government or somewhere to be taken care of properly? There were programs for homeless omegas, and the military always wanted alphas in its ranks. Maybe betas had more trouble, but Patton couldn't imagine a group of people that was _all _betas. What would they do all the time?

"I'm sure they had their reasons." Dee climbed through the same broken window that Patton had used to get in, then put his jacket over the remaining bits of glass and gestured at Patton to follow. "How _did_ you get into this lot, anyway?"

"Climbed the fence," Patton said, clambering through the frame and slipping onto the ground at the other side. He sniffled, half at his scraped knee and half at the situation, and added, "I'm sorry, I know it said no trespassing, I just- I thought maybe, if I got up here-"

"Patton," Dee said incredulously, and he cut off, staring up at him with wide, teary eyes. Dee yanked his jacket off the glass and shrugged it back onto his shoulders. "Do you- did you _seriously _think I was here legally? I'm not about to be angry with you for _trespassing,_ of all things." He smirked as Patton straightened up, and led him around the back of the building with a flourish. "I'm only surprised you didn't come in the _smart_ way."

Patton had no idea what Dee was talking about until he brushed some weedy sunflowers to the side to reveal a hole in the fence. "Was that there this whole time?"

"No, it materialized once we passed it three times, like the Room of Requirement." Dee rolled his eyes, sort of. The yellow eye didn't actually move. "Are you coming or not?"

Patton squirmed through the hole in the fence after him, then had to scurry to catch up to him on the sidewalk. "Where are we going?"

For the first time since Patton had met him, the other man looked embarrassed. "_Not _the bus stop," he said in a way that made Patton suspect that the bus stop was exactly where they were going. "I wasn't actually expecting to meet anyone today. Only stopped out of habit, you understand."

Patton didn't know much about serial killers, but he was pretty sure that was a bad way to be one. Taking a victim on a bus where people might recognize them just _seemed_ silly. What if someone stopped to say hi? What if an old lady knew him because he helped her carry groceries sometimes, and waved at him, and then later when he disappeared she could say she saw him with a man with an uneven face and a yellow eye? It wasn't like Dee could say he didn't match that description perfectly. Patton doubted there was a whole subculture of young men with mismatched eyes and port wine stains on their faces. All Dee needed to complete the distinctive look was a bunch of obvious tattoos all over his body, and maybe his own name across the back of his neck in fancy lettering. That’d make it a breeze for a sketch artist to figure out what he looked like. 

He couldn’t help asking, "What do you do if someone runs away?"

Dee paused in place, blinking at him. "Then they don't come with me," he said, looking at Patton like he thought he was dumb. Patton felt his face go hot, even though he thought it was a pretty reasonable question. "I'm not about to chase someone down and tackle them on the _street_."

A car blew by, making them both jump back as rain splashed onto their feet. Dee was right; tackling someone on the street would mean you both got run over. "So you'd tackle them _off_ the street?"

"Sure," Dee said, snickering. "Straight across the street and into those bushes over there, all twenty feet. That makes sense."

"It would if you were Superman!" Patton said, smiling a little despite himself. “You could cross the whole street in a single bound! Then you’d be _bound _to catch up with them.” Dee made an incredulous face at the pun, and Patton wilted. Of course he shouldn’t be speaking so freely. It might make things worse, even if he couldn’t think how things could get much worse than they were gonna be already, and this conversation was just like one he would've had with Virgil before he moved schools...

Virgil. Oh. Patton would never see him again, either, would he? Never see him smile and try to hide it, never nudge his shoulder to make him lighten up, never hear him hiss at an alpha for getting close or handsy even though Patton _warned _him it was a bad idea, and they’d pinkie promised when Virgil’s family moved that they’d stay in contact, find each other again, even though Virgil’s family never even let him email anyone—

Another car drove by and splashed them both, making Dee curse and soaking Patton in cold water, and the shock was— it was just— he was outside at night with a stranger, and his family hated him, and he was useless and gonna die and he’d never see his mom or Virgil again and now he was even _colder— _

He hiccuped, tears welling up in his eyes, and started crying. Dee stared at him like he thought he was possessed. “I- I don’t- why are you _crying?”_

Patton reached up to wipe his eyes, but he couldn’t breathe right, couldn’t even stop the sobs climbing up his throat, and he was all alone and no one even cared, did they? No one cared about a broken omega, and Patton shouldn’t have cared, either, but he’d disobeyed his parents and now look what had happened. “‘M sorry,” he whispered, closing his eyes against the tears. His shirt was clinging to his skin, freezing cold, and he could feel himself starting to shiver. Stupid, weak omega, too emotional, not even listening to his betters like he should’ve— “I’m really sorry, I don’t, I’m just.” He hugged himself, forcing his gaze down to his feet. Respectful, showing the back of his neck, like he was supposed to. Not babbling whatever thoughts popped into his head. “‘M _cold,” _he forced out, voice breaking, and another sob ripped out of his throat. “I’m being dumb, I’m so sorry—“

”Right,” Dee said, sounding almost pained. “It’s definitely your fault that it’s cold and raining today, that makes sense. Nothing wrong with _that_ line of reasoning.” He shrugged out of his jacket and said, “Take the cardigan you’re for some reason refusing to wear off your neck and put this on instead. It’s _not _warmer.”

Patton sniffled, rubbed his eyes, and did as he was told. The cardigan went around his waist, because it was soft and he really liked it; he pulled the leather jacket around his shoulders, fingers brushing across rough patches and insignias he didn’t recognize, and— “It _is too_ warm,” he blurted out. The inside of the jacket was lined with fleece, just enough so it wouldn’t show from the outside, and it was already toasty from Dee’s body heat. Patton snuggled into it, and the unfamiliar smell of a strange alpha hit his nose. It wasn’t a bad smell, though, even though it confirmed his suspicions about why Dee wanted him; instead, the scent was comforting. As long as he was wearing one alpha’s scent, others wouldn’t bother him. Dee was making sure no one else messed with him while he was out like this, making sure he was warm, and even if it was just so he had Patton all to himself... “Thank you,” he added, because it was always good to be polite. “You didn’t have to.”

He was still crying a little, tears overflowing even though he didn’t want them to; Dee gave him an awkward half-smile and said, “It’s... a hard time of year to be kicked out, isn’t it.” They reached the bus stop, and Dee waited for him to duck under it before following. Patton nodded, forcing his gaze away from the posters plastered along the inside. One of them was for _The Nutcracker. _Because tomorrow was Christmas. He didn’t even know if his parents had gotten him presents this year. He wondered if they’d still open the ones he’d left for them.

He had an older sister, a beta who was already married and had been sixteen when he was born. He didn't really think she'd miss him much, either.

"I was really looking forward to it," he admitted, looking down at his hands. "The tree, and the caroling, and the presents... I got my mom a necklace."

Dee tilted his head. "Did she deserve it?"

"She's- she was my mom," Patton said, wanting to glare but forcing his expression neutral. "It's- none of it's _her_ fault."

"What isn't?" Dee asked acidly. "Your family's mysterious disappearance and death? Their abandonment of someone they spent _years _raising?"

"I'm sixteen," Patton said reproachfully. "That's old enough to take care of myself." Dee snorted, and Patton felt a flare of irritation. "I'm sorry to say this, kiddo, but you don't look that much older than I am."

"I'm at _least _nineteen, thank you," Dee sniffed. Patton blinked; he'd actually thought Dee was a little older. "You should be honored I'm even telling you that. Most people think I'm twenty-four."

"Why?"

A smile slithered across Dee's face. "I have my methods." He leaned forward, propping his chin on his hand. "So why _did _they kick you out? It can't have been for bad behavior."

Patton flinched back, sucked in a breath. Of course Dee was asking that, of course he wanted to know what was wrong with this omega he was taking- "I can't have kids," he admitted softly, looking at the sidewalk so he wouldn't see Dee's expression. "I-I get heats, but they're all dry." Patton swallowed, thinking of the alpha scent on Dee's jacket, of how he was going to his house. Dee had already said he'd knock Patton out before he killed him, hadn't he? But he wouldn't knock him out for whatever came before, Patton didn't think. And Patton had nowhere else to _go, _nowhere to run to even if he got up the nerve for it. He forced his voice light. "So, on the bright side, you don't have to worry about me getting pregnant."

Dee's fists clenched. Patton's breath caught. "They decided you were a failed investment," he said softly, with just a hint of menace.

"Mm-hm." Patton fiddled with the paws of the cat hoodie in his lap, biting his lip to keep from crying again. Nothing was wrong _right now, _right? 'Cause he was warm now, and with an alpha who hadn't touched him yet, and he was gonna take a bus. Nothing wrong with that. It was perfectly normal. He didn't have a reason to be crying. He was always overemotional, and he shouldn't burden the people around him with his problems. "That's okay, I just- I wish they'd waited till after Christmas, is all." He risked glancing up at Dee's face, and when he didn't see disgust or boredom, added timidly, "Do- do you like Christmas? I know a lot of people don't celebrate it..."

Dee stared, then said after a long moment, "I _love_ it. Definitely my favorite holiday, with the tree, and the, ah. Consumerism. I especially enjoy the yearly influx of advertisements targeted to children so they can pressure their parents into fostering an obsession with material wealth."

Patton nodded, curling further into the jacket so it kept his ears warm. It wasn't much bigger than his clothes, but it was definitely _heavier. _"I like the commercials too," he mumbled. "Everyone always seems so happy."

"Well of course they seem happy, they're not-" The bus pulled up with a squeal of its brakes, and Dee cut off whatever he'd been saying, face flushing. He rose and gestured for Patton to follow him. 

No one looked at them when they boarded the bus, but Patton looked at everyone there, heart seizing at the thought that he might not see other people again. He sniffed the air, the subtle scenting that had been drilled into him since childhood as polite, and stiffened with surprise when he noticed a vague undercurrent of heat. He frowned, untying the cardigan from his waist, and handed it to Dee. Dee looked at him in confusion, then sniffed the air himself and paused. Patton wasn’t going to give him a chance to change targets, though, if he wanted to do that; instead he murmured in his most authoritative tone, “You wouldn’t mind scenting this, would you? It’d really make me feel better.”

There weren’t many people on the bus this late, and the bus driver was definitely a beta. There were two old beta ladies with tired faces, a young male alpha in a thick turtleneck with shopping bags in his lap, and a female alpha touching up her makeup in a hand mirror. They smelled alert, the woman more than the man; Patton thought the man might be bonded already. And behind them, shivering into a threadbare pink jacket and staring determinedly out of the window, sat a young girl with a heat-flush rising in her cheeks. Patton thought she wasn't much older than fourteen.

A flash of anger darkened his heart. What was a young omega doing out this late without a chaperone? Had her parents not cared that she was on the cusp of heat, or at least at an age where her first heat might start? How _could _they, abandoning someone when she was still young and- and useful, and what if she got hurt, huh, what would they do then, would they even care? How could someone be so horrible to their own family?

Another person got on the bus behind them, a tall alpha with a belligerent set to his shoulders. His nostrils flared, gaze flicking to the little girl in the pink jacket; then he took a step toward her, making to sit in the seat beside her- to block her exit, Patton realized- and suddenly Patton was sliding into the seat instead, patting the cushion next to him so Dee wouldn't mistake his intentions. The tall alpha glared and bared his teeth. Patton lowered his eyes, deferential like he was supposed to be, but didn't move. The alpha took the window seat behind the girl instead.

Dee had his teeth bared, too, glaring poison at the alpha behind them, fists tight in Patton's cardigan.

Patton hummed, discomfort coiling tight in his chest, and turned to the omega beside him. Her mouth was set in a hard line, face firmly turned toward the window. "Are you okay there, kiddo?" Patton asked. "It's a little dark to be out this late."

"Yeah? Hadn't noticed," she bit out. Her shoulders were bunched up. Heat started tense, cramps low in the gut before the fever and loss of appetite; then there was a need for touch, for nesting, and finally the actual urges. Patton didn't remember realizing he was starting, the first time he'd started cramping, not until he'd gathered every pillow in the house to horde in his closet.

"Do you have somewhere safe to go?"

"Not going anywhere with you," she hissed, and Patton startled.

"Oh, no, that's not- I don't have anywhere to go, either," he said, huffing a little at how silly it was. He felt Dee press something into his hand- his cardigan- and beamed in surprise, because that was just what he'd been thinking, too. "I just thought- it's easier to get people to leave you alone if you smell like an alpha," he continued, voice dropping to a murmur. "You can take my cardigan, if you want. But don't wear it, 'cause you might catch a cold!"

The girl relaxed, glancing up at him nervously, past him at Dee. "Is that your mate?" she asked, soft like she thought Dee might hear. Patton smiled as comfortingly as he could manage.

"Something like that," he promised. He passed her the cardigan, still wet from the rain, and she tied it around her waist, relaxing further. The scent would've calmed her instincts, too- made her think she was protected, even though she didn't know Dee at all.

"You're gonna want this back," she said, more a question than a statement, and Patton shook his head. It wasn't like he'd need it after he died, right? "Oh. Huh. Thanks."

"No problem!" An opportunity presented itself, and Patton leaned in to say, conspiratorial, "You know why they call it a cardigan?"

She eyed him with the suspicion of a young teen encountered with the setup for a spectacularly bad joke. Patton was intimately familiar with that expression. "No. Why?"

"'Cause when you wear it, it's so hot that you're a real _sweater!" _The younger omega's face was priceless. Patton grinned. "Get it? 'Cause a cardigan's a sweater?"

"That's the worst- that didn't even make sense," the girl said, but she was smiling, a hint at the corners of her lips. The alpha behind her snorted, more dismissive than amused, and her expression faltered, face going pale. "Um," she started, voice barely more than a breath, "when are you guys getting off? I'm still, like, an hour away from my house, and then I have to walk."

Patton looked to Dee, who frowned. "We've only got another forty-five minutes," he said. "You're sure you have nowhere closer to stay?"

She looked down. "My sister's working at a fair tonight," she mumbled. "Six stops away. She has a car."

"On Christmas Eve?" Patton asked, confused.

The girl shrugged. "There's a Santa."

"There's your new destination, then," Dee said like the matter was settled. Patton guessed it was. They settled in for a long bus ride, Patton's eyes drooping as he leaned his shoulder against Dee's. The warm scent of alpha on the borrowed jacket was comforting, and he hadn't slept much at all the past few days, not since his fertility test results had come in. The hum of the engine felt like purring. 

It was maybe twenty minutes he spent asleep, and then the younger omega's pheromones spiked, the girl doubling over with a choked gasp, and the alpha behind her growled. She flinched, pupils dilating, and Dee whirled around in his seat. "Do you _mind?"_

"She's in heat," the alpha said. His eyes were dilated, too, muscles flexing and musk thrown out to claim territory. Patton whined, instinct beating him over the head with the instinct to _submit, _and Dee tensed even more. Oh, _no_, what if they started to fight- "Smells nice."

"And here I thought we all learned not to comment on other peoples' scents back in kindergarten," Dee said. "Did you flunk out, is that it? I understand completely. I _also_ found it difficult to identify which shape was a triangle."

The alpha's eyes narrowed, and his scent took on an edge of threat, hot like a challenge. The younger omega flinched into her seat with a stifled whimper that was horribly close to a heat-cry, and Patton suddenly found it very hard to breathe. Which was dumb, because he wasn't even under threat, was he? And he was gonna die today anyway, but- but what if- His eyes started to prickle with terrified tears. "Are you _insulting_ me?" the alpha asked, low and menacing, but Dee only tilted his head, eyes cold.

"Of course not," he said loudly, and some of the other passengers glanced up. Even the bus driver looked up at his mirror. "I'm only asking that you stop harassing this little girl."

The alpha snorted. "Not harassing if she likes it."

"Not _liking_ if she's barely aware of her surroundings," Dee hissed.

The other alpha rolled his eyes and reached over the seat to fondle a lock of the girl's hair, smirking when she gasped and pushed into the touch. Patton felt cold anger replace the fear trickling down his spine. "I think we'll do just fine," he said, smug, insinuating, and his fingers were _still in her hair_-

"You get your hands off her!" Patton snapped, and slapped his hand away. The horror of his actions didn't hit him until a second later, and by then it was too late.

The alpha jerked back and snarled- Patton threw himself back and showed his neck, heart leaping into his throat- and the alpha's head smashed into the back of the seat, nose breaking with a crack and spurting blood. The alpha didn't even have time to retaliate before Dee was vaulting out of his seat after him.

Patton shrieked and pushed the girl behind him. The taller alpha lunged, roaring, but Dee sidestepped neatly, grabbing his hair and bashing his face into the window. One of the two beta women screamed, the alpha in the turtleneck rising to his feet, and the bus lurched abruptly to the right, skidding onto the shoulder and hissing open the doors. "Out! All of you get out!" the driver shouted.

Dee and his opponent broke apart, and Patton jolted out of his seat, flushed with mortification. "I'm sorry, we're getting off right now-"

"All _four_ of you are getting off," the bus driver gritted out.

"Wha-" Dee sputtered, "she's in _heat, _you imbecile!"

"And I don't need her causing trouble in my bus. _Get out."_

Patton winced and nudged the girl's shoulder; she staggered upright, glassy-eyed and sweating, and Patton whispered, "I'm sorry, we're getting kicked off the bus. We'll find a way to get you back, okay?"

She nodded dimly. Dee shoved between them and the other alpha, blocking his opponent's view, and they filed off into the freezing rain, gravel crunching under their feet. The bus drove off, leaving the four of them on the side of the road, surrounded by bare grass and guard rails. A truck passed and flooded their eyes with headlights. Patton nudged the other omega behind him, keeping a careful eye on the two alphas. "What the _fuck_," the stranger said, and Dee whirled on him in a fury.

"You've stolen my line," he said, acid. "_I_ was going to ask what the fuck you were doing sniffing at an underage omega and planning to follow her home. I was even, perhaps, going to ask _why_ the fuck you were so intent on getting shanked because you can't keep it in your pants. So here I am, asking now. Would you like me to stab you, alpha?"

"You think you've got the balls?" the alpha asked. "Come on, you're making a big deal out of noth-" He cut off with a squeak, Dee cutting forward, and too late Patton noticed the glint of metal at his throat.

"Nothing is exactly right," Dee said, gripping his taller opponent by the collar. "This doesn't have to be _anything_, does it? We're in the middle of a half-deserted stretch of highway. It's ten o'clock at night. If I know this area well enough, there are gas stations a few miles in both directions." He nodded his head back where the bus had come from. "So you're going to go that way," he said almost sweetly, "and we will go the other. And neither of us has to see the other again." He let go, and the alpha staggered back, growling but keeping his distance.

"You greedy _fuck," _he spat, "I bet you just want two for yourself." Dee froze, and Patton's heart skipped a beat. "Gonna watch them fuck each other, is that it? Gonna have fun, splitting 'em open on your cock?" The girl whined, clutching Patton's arm and swaying on her feet, and the alpha's face twisted. "That's right, omega," he said. "Never been taken by an alpha before? It's not as pretty as your mommy said. He's gonna fuck you bloody and you're gonna like it, you little _slut!" _

The alpha's head snapped back, and Patton's hand erupted in pain. He stood his ground, though, shaking with anger. He couldn't breathe past the rage. This alpha had made a little girl cry. He'd threatened her, had practically molested her and _still _wasn't leaving well enough alone. Who had _raised_ this jerk? "You need to shut your cakehole, mister," Patton bit out, cradling his hand to his chest, “before someone shuts it for you.” The alpha showed his teeth, but his eyes caught on Dee and he didn't lunge forward. His cheek was blooming red.

_Patton _had done that, he realized dizzily. He'd hit an alpha in the face.

Beside him, Dee said with a smug smile, "You heard him. Time to make like a tree and remove yourself from the premises."_  
_

The alpha glared between them, then spit at Patton's feet and swung around. They watched until he'd walked too far to see in the dark, and then Dee turned to them and said, pinching his nose, "I'm _not _sorry to say this, but I think we'll have to walk." He dug his phone out of his pocket and fiddled with it, then reported, "The fairground is only about a mile and a half from here."

"It's ten at night!" Patton protested. "Will it even still be open?"

"It is," the girl said weakly. She was hugging her middle, looking sick, but her eyes were thankfully clearing. "Till, uh, one. 'S a Christmas countdown. Sorry I got you kicked off the bus."

"Yes, it's totally your fault that a pervert latched onto you for his heat fantasy," Dee said, rolling his eyes. "What's your name? I'm Declan and this is Patrick."

They were? That was news to Patton. Then again, maybe a serial killer wouldn't want to give his real name to a potential witness- but what if he changed targets since she was already in heat- "I'm Marisol," the younger omega said. "It's, um. You said it's not much more than a mile?"

"We'll get you there," Patton reassured, then tensed and turned to Dee. "Um. Right? I know we were supposed to go somewhere else tonight-"

"It can wait," Dee said dismissively, and Patton nearly collapsed in relief. "This definitely _isn't _more important. We'll carry her, if we have to."

Marisol bit her lip, fear clouding her eyes. "To the _fairground?"_ she pressed.

"To the fairground and nowhere else," Dee promised, mismatched eyes dark. "For all it's worth-" He smiled, more of a baring of teeth, "You have my _word."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: violent threats of non-con, assumption of future non-con/murder, sexual harassment of an underage girl, parental abandonment, implied/referenced emotional abuse, fighting in public, threatening someone with a knife
> 
> That... makes this sound a little darker than it is, tbh.


End file.
